Sun-loving world travelers seek endless summer

by Laurel Miller on

Call it a refusal to grow up, an inability to tolerate winter weather, or Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but some travelers will do anything to prolong their summer vacation.

A recent CNN article profiles a handful of travelers and entrepreneurs who have planned their lives around seeking sun rather than snow. Appropriately enough, folks like this are sometimes referred to as “summer chasers.”

If the pursuit of sunshine appeals to you, the article offers the following tips:

Plan ahead
Couple Jared Heyman and Lauren Goldstein saved their money to fulfill a longtime goal: to travel the world for a year, visiting every continent without a set itinerary. Their one requirement: to only visit places with warm climates. Says Heyman, “To us, summer means freedom. Since we’re taking a year to travel…without work or other responsibilities, summer seemed like the most appropriate season to chase. Our strategy is to always be wherever it’s summertime, even if that means switching continents and hemispheres when necessary.”

The couple is currently in Italy, but following stops in Greece and Croatia, they will head to the Southern Hemisphere, visiting Cape Town, South Africa, Mauritius and Zanzibar. Then on to South America for the holidays, followed by Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives (hopefully they won’t decide to get married there), and the Seychelles.

Find a job that lets you live in endless summer
If you don’t have the savings to quit your job so you can travel, why not find a career that keeps you in a warm climate, or on the beach?

Michael Turner Winning of British Columbia is a private chef on a Florida yacht. The job enables him to travel and experience summer nearly full-time. He works 11 months a year in balmy climes like Maui and West Palm Beach.

Take your professional aspirations where the sun shines
Thanks to technology, working remotely is easier than ever, even from a private island or multiple countries.

Twenty-two-year-old (!) Colin Pladmonton of Washington state co-founded Spreadsong, a company that develops mobile applications. His occupation is enabling him to travel the world indefinitely, staying in hostels and affordable rented bungalows in temperate parts of Argentina, as well as Montevideo, Uruguay, and Panama.

Daily travel deal – Hawaii 9 day island hopper package from $915

by Scott Carmichael on

I’ll admit right away that our daily travel deal for today is not exactly “budget friendly”, but that does not mean it isn’t a scorching travel package deal!

Starting at $915, you’ll fly from the Continental US to Honolulu, spend three nights on Oahu, then fly to Kauai, spend three nights there, then on to Maui, and (you guessed it!), spend your final three nights there before flying back to the mainland.

The package includes all nine nights, your inter-island flights and roundtrip airfare back home. The starting price of $915 is based off a departure from Los Angeles. Departures from other airports will add to the price, but even a package from as far away as Chicago only adds about $200.

This package is a great way to see the best of the islands, or just to experience 3 different beaches in 9 days.

The best part of this deal is that it does not force you to stick to their schedule – you can add or remove nights, change hotels and even pick different inter-island flights. Rather spend a day or 2 more on Maui and one day less on Oahu? No problem at all!

You’ll find the deal here, which is also where you’ll find more about the various destinations and the different hotels you can add to the package. One quick word of warning – no transportaion between the airport and the hotels is inlcuded, so be sure to reserve a bus service, or pre-book a rental car.

Puerto Rico Island Hopping

by Iva Skoch on

From the East Coast of the US, Puerto Rico is an easy, short and cheap flight away. If you want to see the real beauty of Puerto Rico, get away from the mainland. The two islands off the east coast of PR–Culebra and Vieques–are both well worth the trip. There are no big hotels and no cruise ships, just chickens on the street and men playing cards.

If you rent a car to get around, you don’t have to drop off your rental car at an office. Just leave it parked on the street somewhere and they’ll find it (no kidding). But best just to walk or bike the islands, though, to enjoy the pace of life. And don’t forget to go swimming at night under their pitch-black skies, to experience the bioluminescent plankton in the water.

Getting there is half the fun, especially if you decide to take the island hopper plane run by Air Flamenco. It only costs about $50 and takes about 30 minutes. Sure, it is a little bumpy and the fact that the pilots look about 18 does not make one feel particularly safe (and don’t mind the red, flashing “STALL” warning light on the dashboard as you’re coming in for a landing), but seeing all the miniature “Robinson Crusoe” islands in the blue Caribbean sea from a bird’s perspective is a much better (and faster) option that taking the ferry. Try it at least one way.